_Patrick_Carman_:
It’s actually more enjoyable than I thought it would be. I expected the
king (you know, Mr. Riordan) to call me every five minutes and say ‘no!
not like that!’ but he never calls me.

_lucky5800_: Do the Holts have anything to do about the death of Amy and Dan’s parents?

_Patrick_Carman_: They totally did it.

_Patrick_Carman_: I’m making that up. Them might have done it.

_Patrick_Carman_: Them = They…me make typo.

_Patrick_Carman_: The Holts were there the night they died, that’s all I’m saying.

_Cahill-E_: HOW DID THE LUCIAN STEAL A WHOLE ROOM

_Patrick_Carman_: In little tiny pieces.

_Patrick_Carman_:
and then they put it back together again. That’s how the Nazis did it.
At least that’s what my editor says, and she knows ALL (insert spooky
music here).

_Summer Colour_: On Wikipedia it says the Team 8 will join the hunt. Is that true and if it is then who is in Team 8?

_Patrick_Carman_: Team 8 is me, MR. T, and Madonna.

_Patrick_Carman_: And I’m working on Hannah Montana, but she’s really busy.

_Patrick_Carman_: As far as I know, and I know basically everything, there is no team 8.

_Stacks_Admin_:
Hey everyone, if your question has already been answered, we won’t be
posting it again. If you joined after the start of the chat and don’t
see the beginning of the chat, don’t fret — we’ll be posting a
transcript at the end.

_Winter’s Read_: Are you and the other authors all aware of what will be written in the future books?

_Patrick_Carman_:
I think I know, but it’s possible they’re making up some things and
they’ll pull the old switcheroo at the end. I think ‘they’ are not
Lucians.

_9john99_: What’s it like to write this book?

_Patrick_Carman_:
Writing The Black Circle isn’t that different than writing an original
novel. I knew where the story was, where it had to go, and where it had
to take place. There was a lot of freedom other than that. Very cool.

_Mad-House-Of-Mouse_: Who is your least favorite Character in the book series, and why?

_Patrick_Carman_: That cat. I hate cats.

_Patrick_Carman_: I don’t really hate cats. I just like dogs better.

_Patrick_Carman_: Least favorite has to be the Kabras.

_bibliomania123_:
Patrick, the competition is about Hope. Alistair was there the night they
died. remember Madeiline. Olivia had another. Sound familiar?

_Patrick_Carman_: Hidden codes from the books. Very good!

_Patrick_Carman_: All those codes are important in the end – keep paying attention!

_ztag100_: what’s william mcintyre doing in the time of the 5th book

_Patrick_Carman_: I think I saw him at the GI Joe movie the other night, but it might have been someone that only looked like William.

_Patrick_Carman_: Seriously, he’s doing important things to the story off camera – stay tuned!

_zeldaspirit_: How could you hate Saladin?

_Patrick_Carman_:
Sorry! I don’t hate Saladin or cats – - – he’s a pretty cool cat,
especially the picky eating part. If I were a cat, I’d be picky, too.
What I meant to say was RATS. I hate RATS. Not cats. I love cats.

_ztag100_: smooth move carman

_9john99_: is it more fun to write for the good characters or the bad ones?

_Patrick_Carman_: Definitely the bad ones. It’s so fun to pretend to be evil, I can’t tell you.

_Patrick_Carman_:
But I also like showing the other side of bad characters – like with
Hamilton Holt – that guy is a dream for dialogue, and probably more
complicated than he appears when you meet him.

_Taylor431_: Is there a special reason you put out Nellie or you just wanted them to be independent?

_Patrick_Carman_: I don’t
trust Nellie. Plus, she’s always got that loud music playing, so how
much attention could she really be paying? She was bound to lose them
at some point. And yes, I did love the idea of getting Dan and Amy off
on their own.

_Summer Colour_: As yet Amy and Dan are slowly finding each clue as in 1 per book. How will they find the remaining 34 in just 5 books??

_Patrick_Carman_:
If you play the game, you’re way ahead of Dan and Amy. With the books
and 39clues.com, we’re up to 20. I guess the way to look at it there
are 20 clues already found in the story as well, it’s a question of who
has them and how Dan and Amy will get them.

_Sabertooth Dragon_: What branch are the Starlings in?

_Patrick_Carman_: Ekat

_Patrick_Carman_: Are they all dead?

_Patrick_Carman_: I hardly knew them

_arion16_:
I’m starting to trust Alliser Oh more and more, but he wasn’t even
mentioned in your book, so I was wondering if you know where he is and
if there’s anything we should know about him?

_Patrick_Carman_: Alistair re-appears in the next book, and I’m sort of on the fence about whether or not to trust him. He’s a wily one.

_arion16_: And I would assume that you are in the hunt for the 39 clues, how are you doing so far?

_Patrick_Carman_: I have 40 clues.

_Patrick_Carman_: I can’t be beaten. It’s impossible.

_ninjanick_: 40!!!!!!!!!!!! wow!!

_Dewdrop208_: That’s cool Mr. Carman!

_Biffle15_: If you could choose, 1 million dollars and walk away, or the competition of the 39 clues, which would you choose?

_Patrick_Carman_:
If I could get some sweet basketball skills out of the deal, plus beat
all my friends at my favorite X-Box games, I’d take the clues.
Otherwise, I’m taking the money and buying surfing lessons.

_ztag100_: ( i have 41 )

_Patrick_Carman_: I don’t really have 40 clues, but I do play the game so I have 20 – I’m obsessed.

_candygirl4_: what was your favorite part of book 5?

_Patrick_Carman_:
I was hoping I could make book 5 both funny and exciting, and I wanted
to push Dan and Amy into some new challenges that would tell us more
about their personalities. Writing something funny is harder than it
looks – but Hamilton and Dan helped me out.

_lizwhiz23_: Do you know who started the fire for Hope Cahill and Arthur Trent or was it just an accident?

_Patrick_Carman_: It was the cat.

_Patrick_Carman_: kidding!

_Patrick_Carman_:
that’s one of the central mysteries of the story – I think, in the end,
Dan and Amy are going to have to come to grips with some big secrets
about that fire.

_Sabertooth Dragon_: Are we going to learn about the first cahills (Katherine, Thomas, Luke, and Jane) in later books?

_Patrick_Carman_: If it were me, I’d write a 20 book prequel….but that kind of decision is way over my pay grade.

_Patrick_Carman_: 39clues.com has some info on this in the game

_Stacks_Admin_:
Hey everyone, we’re getting some questions about why your messages
aren’t being approved. The chat is SO popular today (bc Patrick is so
awesome) that we’re getting a lot of questions. We’re publishing them
as fast as we can — but we might not get to all the questions.

_Amber Mint_:
am i talking to a real live author? And, um, have you written other
books besides the 39 clues, land of elyon, and the skeleton creek
series?

_Patrick_Carman_: This is me – I’m real – and I’m eating a candy bar.

_Patrick_Carman_: Let’s see – Ghost in the Machine, the sequel to Skeleton Creek is coming out in October – a good fun scare!

_Amber Mint_: LOL! I wish I had some candy!

_ztag100_: What candybar

_Patrick_Carman_: I’m having a Snickers bar. Not my favorite, but it’s pretty good. I’d rather have some Jr. Mints.

_Dewdrop208_: The Land of Elyon is soo amazing!

_ShogunMozart_: What can you do to find out if someone’s a Madrigal? (I think my teacher’s one.)

_Dewdrop208_: Hee hee

_Patrick_Carman_: If you think your teacher is a Madrigal, than he or she probably is. Be careful. And switch classes if you can.

_ShogunMozart_: Thanks for the advice!

_bookworm92_: I LOVE SKELETON CREEK!

_Patrick_Carman_: Thanks for loving Skeleton Creek! That story is SO fun to work on.

_A Major Bibliophile_:
Right now I am here with my friend and sister; we all love Skeeton
Creek, and are going to have a party when Book 2 comes out!

_Patrick_Carman_:
Party ghost style! That’s a great idea – I got an email the other day
where a school of 500 students all read and watched it together – crazy!

_QueenofBooks11_: Comprehending relationships between siblings is difficult. Do you have siblings that make writing about the bond easier?

_Patrick_Carman_:
I have an older brother, which is complicated for sure. He was kind of
a meanie head for a stretch. He liked to sit on me and give me noogies.
Still, later on, when we got older, we started to like each other. Now
I’m bigger than he is, which is super nice.

_Patrick_Carman_:
Into the Mist, the prequel to the Elyon books, is about two brothers -
that book was one of the easiest one’s to write because it was like
hanging out with my bro again – I had a lot to draw on.

_Solus_Nui_: What has the Lucian Leadership said about the publishing of The Black Circle?

_Patrick_Carman_: No one has called me yet, but I’m watching my back.

_Sabertooth Dragon_: Why was it so easy to get into 2 Lucian strongholds!?! The Lucians are the best! Glory for the Lucians! (I’m a Lucian)

_Patrick_Carman_:
I’m thinking the Lucians have a reason why they let Dan and Amy get so
close. We’re always up to something, and usually, it’s not what you
think.

_Biffle15_: Why did you decide that Amy, Dan, and the Holts should work together at first?

_Patrick_Carman_:
There were too many places for one team to go it alone in Russia, so
The Black Circle represents a different kind of challenge: can teams
learn to work together? So far, it appears that Dan and Amy are the
only ones thinking this way – even the Holts, Minus Hamilton, aren’t
really ‘working as a team -

_turtlequest_: Irina is such an interesting and complex character. Is it fun writing about her? Is she turning from evil to good?

_Patrick_Carman_:
Interesting about Irina – I’ll be honest, some evil characters are more
fun to write than others. She’s kind of tough for me, but I like the
way she’s super complicated. Maybe that’s why she’s not as fun -
Hamilton is much more black and white. I know you’ll be seeing a lot of
Irina in book 6

_candygirl4_: When you were a little kid did you like reading?

_Patrick_Carman_: I liked candy more.

_Patrick_Carman_: but reading was okay.

_Patrick_Carman_: I was into comic books

_Patrick_Carman_: but then, at about the age of 12, I got really into books

_Readiac_: I love to write! Do you have any tips for aspiring writers?

_Patrick_Carman_:
Aspiring writers out there – just have fun with it. Read books you
enjoy, write the kind of things you’re interested in, and don’t worry
about it. You can do it!

_Sonja_Stacks_Staffer_: We have 5 minutes left in the chat and a big secret is about to be revealed.

_Patrick_Carman_: looks like we’re running out of time – so…..

_Patrick_Carman_: if I didn’t get to your question….

_Patrick_Carman_: fear not!

_Stacks_Admin_:
Hey everyone, since there were SO many questions for Patrick, we’ve arm
twisted him into agreeing to answer some more later on! We’ll be saving
your questions and he’ll select some and answer them in a blog post on
Ink Splot 26.

_Dewdrop208_: I’m writing the secret down on paper!

_A Major Bibliophile_: It was so great talking to you! You’re awesome!

_ninjanick_: you are the best!!!!!!

_max39_: Hello Mr. Carman if you can, can you please tell me more about Book 6?

_Patrick_Carman_: Okay, so I was told I could give away a big secret now….

_Philip2000000_: You awesome, Pat!

_Dewdrop208_: Rock on Patrick Carman!

_Patrick_Carman_: about book 6….

_Sabertooth Dragon_: Yay Patrick

_Biffle15_: @Patrick_Carman Thank you so much for taking your time to answer all of our questions!

_Patrick_Carman_: Book 6 takes place in…..

_boxer4356_: U ROCK!

_Patrick_Carman_: hang on, I need to get some water – give me like 10 minutes.

_Patrick_Carman_: okay 5

_Patrick_Carman_: Oh forget it, here goes

_Patrick_Carman_: Dan and Amy are heading to…

_Patrick_Carman_:Australia!

_Patrick_Carman_: Awesome!

_Patrick_Carman_: The land down under

_Sonja_Stacks_Staffer_: Thanks so much for joining us Patrick! Do you have any final words for all your fans here in chat?

_Patrick_Carman_:
This was SO fun – I could hang out with you guys all day. Thank you for
all the kind words. Keep rockin’ the 39 Clues – see you in the land of
Kangaroos!

_Biffle15_: Thank you soooo much Patrick!!!

_turtlequest_: You’re awesome, Mr. Carman. I can’t wait for Book 6 and I’m just about to start Skeleton Creek. You rock~!

_ShogunMozart_: THANKS!!!

_Solus_Nui_: Be safe from Madrigals!

_A Major Bibliophile_: Sweet!

_Biffle15_: Oh! That is so cool! I can’t wait!!1

_turtlequest_: cool!

_boxer4356_: COOL!

_jrollnotphilfan_: bye

_Amber Mint_: great word!

_ztag100_: THANK YOU PATRICK CARMAN

_Dewdrop208_: I will miss you!

_Stacks_Admin_:
Thanks for joining the chat, everyone! We’ll be posting the transcript
on Ink Splot 26 — http://blog.scholastic.com/ink_splot_26/ and check
back to see MORE answers in Pat’s upcoming blog post!